Workshops

Ten people, two days, one stool each. You will draw badly on the first morning and that is the point.

What two days actually look like

This is the Saturday. Sunday is the same shape in a different part of the city, with longer drawings and less talking.

08:30, coffee and the plan

We meet somewhere with a roof in case it rains, I empty the bag onto the table, and we agree the four spots for the day.

09:00, the ten-minute rule

Six drawings, ten minutes each, standing up, line only. They will all be bad. That is the exercise, not a side effect of it.

11:00, one long one

Ninety minutes on a single view, with me coming round every fifteen and saying as little as I can manage.

13:30, color after lunch

Eight colors, one brush, and a rule that you may not touch the sky. Most people break it once and then stop wanting to.

15:30, people in three strokes

Figures from a cafe chair while they move. Everyone dreads this hour and everyone says afterwards it was the useful one.

17:00, everything on the table

We lay out sixty drawings, nobody apologizes for any of them, and you leave knowing which one to do more of.

Where I will be teaching

  1. Two days on the ferries

    Kadıköy and Karaköy, Istanbul Workshop

    Half of it is drawn from a moving boat. Bring a coat.

  2. Two days in the vicoli

    Quartieri Spagnoli, Naples Workshop

    Line only on the first day. Nothing there holds still long enough for wash.

  3. Two days on the ferries

    Kadıköy and Karaköy, Istanbul Workshop

    The good light month. This one fills first every year.

  4. Two days on the riverfront

    Ribeira, Porto Workshop

    Full. Write anyway and I will put you on the list for the autumn date.

    Sold out
  5. Two days of balconies

    Abanotubani, Tbilisi Workshop

    The hardest and best subject I teach. Ten people, no more.

Bring almost nothing

What to bring

  • A sketchbook you are willing to ruin
  • One waterproof pen, any brand
  • A pocket watercolor set, eight colors is plenty
  • A water brush, or a small jar and a rag
  • Something to sit on that folds

What I provide

  • A folding stool if you do not own one
  • Spare pens and paper, always
  • A pocket tin to borrow for the weekend
  • Coffee at half past eight, lunch on day two
  • A printed sheet with the four spots on it

What you leave with

  • About sixty drawings, most of them bad
  • One finished spread you would show someone
  • A way of starting that does not need a pencil
  • The habit of finishing inside the hour
  • Nine other people's contact details

What a place costs

Half on booking, half on the morning. If you cancel more than two weeks out you get the half back.

One day

$190

A single Saturday, six hours, Istanbul only.

  • Six hours on location
  • Morning exercises and one long drawing
  • Materials to borrow
  • Ten people maximum
Reserve a place

Private

From $780

One to four people, your dates, your city if I can get there.

  • A day or two, as you like
  • Your city, travel quoted separately
  • One to four people
  • Everything above, at your own pace
Ask about dates

Before you book

Do I need to be able to draw?
No, and the people who tell me they cannot usually finish the weekend ahead of the people who tell me they can. What you need is a willingness to make six bad drawings before lunch.
What happens if it rains?
We draw from under something. Istanbul has an unreasonable number of covered places to sit and I know most of them. No workshop has ever been cancelled for weather.
Can I use pencil?
Not on my weekend. Pencil lets you defer every decision and then rub it out, and two days is not long enough to learn anything if you spend them deferring. Bring a pen you cannot undo.
How far ahead do places go?
Istanbul dates usually fill four to six weeks out and travel dates go faster. I keep a waiting list that moves more often than you would think, so write even when a date says it is full.
Is there an age limit?
Fourteen and up, and anyone under sixteen needs an adult booked onto the workshop too. The oldest person I have taught was eighty-one and she was the fastest in the group.